The Ancient City, Part 1: Force Echoes
by Silver
Summary: Three years after graduating, the Young Jedi Knights have been scattered throughout the galaxy. Bu


The Ancient City by Silver Part 1: Force Echoes 

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Disclaimer: All the Star Wars stuff is property of George Lucas, etc. You know the drill. But the stuff I made is mine (a.k.a. Tnuia, Falls and Seida, etc) 

This story takes place several standard years after Crystal Reef and the graduation of the YJKs. Jacen and Jaina are 19, Zekk is 21, Tenel Ka is 19, Lowie is the Wookie equivalent of 20-ish, Sirra and Raaba are the equivalent of 17-ish. Becker Falls is 20, Seida Oklin is 18, and Tecpin and Purna are 19. 

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It was raining on Tnuia. But then, it was always raining on Tnuia. The planet's atmosphere had been heavily a long time ago, by what no one knew. The end result, however, was quite obvious - it was always raining on Tnuia. Jacen slumped his shoulders and pulled his raincoat tighter over his neck as he walked along the sidewalk with everyone else. He tried to keep himself dry as possible, but since his umbrella had been pulled inside out two blocks back it was a little difficult. While everything else he was wearing was waterproof - the high black boots, the long black coat and the black gloves on his hands - his hair was decidedly not, and unfortunately neither was his face. His hair clung to his scalp and sent even more drops running off his nose and onto the pavement. All of the cities on Tnuia were built atop a deep system of sewer lines that all ran downhill, eventually dumping into the vast oceans of the planet. The small pieces of land that were available for living were the highest of the mountain peaks which covered the planet. Divers had discovered the remains of ancient cities far beneath the surface of the water. At some point in Tnuia's history, the ice caps had melted and drowned out most of the civilization. That and the damage done to the atmosphere completely buried the evidence of previous inhabitants underneath unmeasurable amounts of water. Oddly enough, none of it was salt. Pulling his right hand out of the glove, Jacen placed his palm upon the slick surface of the ID scanner. His name flashed briefly in red above his hand: JACEN SOLO. The doors opened and he rushed to get inside, away from the rain. Not that he could really get any wetter than he already was, he thought. He shook his coat as he pulled it off, sticking the gloves inside one pocket. He ran his hands through his hair, simultaneously wringing it out and shaking it to get rid of as much moisture as possible, which wasn't much at all. Giving up, he pushed it out of his eyes and tried not to think about the messy curls it would undoubtedly dry into. "Jacen you look like you just tried to swim between cities! Umbrella go inside out on you again?" the Jedi Knight looked up to see his friend and roommate, Becker Falls grinning lop-sided at him. "Very funny, Falls. Yeah it did, about two blocks back towards the dorms. I think I'm gonna have to stop by the bookstore and see what's left this time." "I keep telling you, man, you should go with the hooded jacket! It may cost more, but it'll save you a ton of credits in the long run, especially at the rate you keep buying umbrellas." Falls told him, falling into step alongside his roommate. "And I keep telling you, I don't like hoods. They make me feel like I can't see anything, they block out my vision on the sides." Jacen explained. "Yeah, that's just cause your head's too small!" Falls ruffed Jacen's wet head and laughed. It was an old joke between the two, going back through the two years since they had started here at the Science University of Tnuia. Falls was a geology major while Jacen was actually sticking it out as a biology major. He was even considering staying at the University for a few more years after graduation to get a degree to be registered nurse. Falls always teased Jacen about it, but he knew his friend was serious. He also knew there could hardly be someone better for the job. "You're killing me Falls. Say, did you get the mail yet?" Jacen asked. "Nah, not yet. I was just on my way, actually, when I saw you coming in. You got a class or you want to come with me?" Jacen checked his chronometer. "Yeah sure, I've got fifteen minutes before I have to be there, and I'm going that way anyhow." He looked up and grinned as his sister's oft-used phrase came to him. "Well, what are we waiting for?" About five minutes later, Jacen's face split into a wide grin. "This is great! My sister and Zekk are coming to visit!" 

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Jaina's eyes snapped open. She sat up, looking about the room quickly. What was the noise? Who was here? What was going on? The room was dark. Her eyes glanced at the shadowed form beside her: Zekk was still asleep. She cocked her head, listening closely, her sense of sound enhanced through the Force. Everything was still in the apartment. Then where was that noise from? Or had it really been a noise after all? Maybe...something else? Or maybe she was just making things up. Sighing, she got up and went to refresher unit to splash her face with water. Looking into the mirror, she studied her tired face. Same brandy brown eyes and long brown hair as always. Same old Jaina, just a few years older and with fewer grease stains on her checks nowadays. She was the pilot now, even if she did tinker with her ship when she got the chance. But her ship, *Jaina's Falcon*, was one of the best in the galaxy and needed few repairs and even fewer additions. It was the same make of her father's ship, but some years advanced in model. She loved it; Han and Leia had presented it to her for her 18th birthday. Jacen had been given tuition to the Science University of Tnuia, where he was currently in his second year. She went to the kitchen and got herself a warm drink, sitting down and musing over the years since their graduation. Three years to be exact, almost to the day. She hadn't really seen Jacen since he'd started the University, although they kept in close contact. Zekk, of course, she saw all the time. Like her, he was working for the New Republic, still piloting the *Lightning Rod*. They had been living together since she'd turned 18, but in the year and a half since, there had yet been no talk of getting married. Tenel Ka had chosen to go to Hapes after graduation; despite her dislike for her grandmother's controlling ways, she knew that one day the ruling of the Hapes Cluster would be on her shoulders, and she intended to be the best. Which meant she had to start learning how, and so she was. Jaina imagined that Tenel Ka was keeping in contact with Jacen more than herself, but they still talked and wrote every month or so. The serious young warrior woman was adapting to her new role as a democrat rather well, if a bit uncomfortably. She still sported that lizard skin armor whenever she could, Jaina thought with a smile. Lowie went home for a long time; he had missed his family more than he had often let on. Jaina remembered how happy he was to see his uncle, Chewbacca, whenever he and her father had come to Yavin IV. He and his sister Sirra worked together now, scouting out distant planets for the Chief-of-State, hoping to aid in bringing them into the New Republic. Jaina knew, too, that both Wookies also hoped to find signs of their long lost friend, Raaba, whether she was dead or alive. No one knew the truth of her fate, or that of Nolaa Tarkona, though Jaina sincerely hoped that the latter was out of their way for good. Raynar and Lusa had graduated to the status of Jedi Knights, and for the time they were still at the Academy, helping to train other Jedi. Another noise! Jaina opened her eyes again, unaware that she had even closed them again. Drifting in her state of half-sleep, she had heard it again. This time it was different...not a noise at all, really. More like some kind of echo she heard through the Force. She tried tuning in more to that sense of herself, letting her eyes slide half-shut.... "Jaina?" "Ahhh!" she jumped and whirled, ready for anything - but it was only Zekk. "Zekk! You scared me half to death! What're you doing up?" "I could ask you the same thing," he said, walking around the couch and sitting down next to her. "What are you doing awake at this hour?" She sighed. "I keep thinking I'm hearing this noise in the apartment, but there's nothing here. Just now I realized that it's more like an echo through the Force. Ave you heard anything?" "Not a thing," he shook his head. He started massaging her shoulders. "Mmm...thanks." There was a silence as he kneaded the stress out of her muscles. She leaned back on him and he put his arms around her. Thoughts wandered through her head as they tended to in the early morning. "Zekk, how do you like that wall?" she asked, staring at the blank one in front of her. He looked up. "I think it looks like a wall. And you?" "Very funny. It's kind of empty. Maybe we should get something to put up there." "Sounds like a good idea, but what?" "Oh, I don't know. Maybe we could look for something in our spare time." Zekk laughed. "Jaina, this is our spare time! You forget what our work schedules are like, love?" She sighed again. "No, I didn't. It'd just be nice to have some time to decorate this place. Make it look a little more like home." He kissed the top of her head. "Yeah...but how do you know how long we'll be here?" "What's wrong with here?" Jaina asked, turning to look up at him. "Nothing's wrong with it. I'm just saying, you never know. I know you want to go back Yavin IV to be a Jedi Master someday, and I've been thinking I will, too. So what's going to happen to here then?" "Well...it would be here when we got back." She answered, as though that were the most obvious thing in the world. There was a silence as his emerald eyes roamed around the room. "Right?" He was silent still as his eyes came back to hers, and Jaina saw many things within. Love, friendship, strength, serenity, and...uncertainty. Now it was her turn to look away. "Zekk, we...we've never really talked about the future." "Of course we have. Isn't that what I was just talking about?" "No, I mean our future." She looked back at him. "What about that future?" "Well...what's wrong with this?" "There's nothing wrong with this, Zekk. You know I love it here. You know I love you! I mean...I mean, what if we...what if we got married?" she finally got it out. "Oh...well.... I don't know, Jaina...." He wasn't looking at her again. "Why not? Is...there isn't someone else is there?" she feared the worst, but his answer was immeadiate. "No! No, of course not! Jaina, I love you and only you. There couldn't possibly be anyone in the galaxy who means more to me than you." He took her hands in his, and then that uncertain look came back into his eyes. "I...I just don't know if I'm ready to...to be a husband, and possibly a parent...it's just so much responsibility, and, well, a lot of pressure." "Oh...oh, I see." "Please, Jaina, I love you and I couldn't imagine anyone else I'd rather be with. Just...give me some time before that, okay?" Jaina looked up at him and saw the questions in his eyes. She slowly smiled her lop-sided grin. "Okay. There's no rushing...we've got all the time in the world for that. Let's just make the best of right now." He smiled back, his eyes confident again, "I think I can do that," and he leaned down to kiss her. 

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It was later in the evening on the day Jacen received the message from Jaina, and he was trying to study for a biology test. The rain spattered outside as usual, but over the last hour it had gotten much worse. He wasn't sure if he could remember it being worse since he had arrived at the University. Raising the shade on the window, he looked out over the bay not far from his dorm. "I've never seen anything like this! Blaster bolts, as if there wasn't enough water here before," he looked in amazement at the downpour before him. Suddenly the sky was lit up blindingly by an enourmous lightning bolt that struck right into the bay. It came and boomed so quickly he actually fell back with a yell and had to blink several times for the spots to clear from his vision. "That was larger than anything I've ever seen!" "Solo, what are you yelling at? It's two in the morning!" Falls moaned from the hallway as he came into Jacen's room. "Falls, the biggest lightning bolt I've ever seen in my life just struck straight into the bay, you should've seen this thing!" "Yeah, sure, just tell it to be quiet next time," he started to leave. Jacen rolled his eyes and looked back at the window, intending to pull the shade back down. His jaw dropped. "By the Force...." "What?" Falls turned around and blinked at the window. "That's impossible!" "And it's headed for the city!" There before them, exactly where the lightning had plunged into the bay, the water was on fire. And the biggest wave either young man could have imagined was headed straight for the city. 

To Be Continued..... 

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